Peeved at the alleged non-completion of pucca motorable road, residents of Bhagbatipada village in Khordha district made two employees of the Odisha Water Resources Department walk through a muddy stretch in order to make the latter realize their plight.
Though the incident took place on Monday, it came to light only after a video of the entire spectacle went viral on social media platforms later.
The two officials-- Akshaya Kumar Behera, SDO of Water Resources Department and junior engineer Sisir Kumar Sahu--faced the wrath of the angry villagers when they visited the locality to assess the flood situation following two days of heavy downpour.
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In the purported video believed to have been shot by some onlookers during the incident, the two officials were seen struggling to walk through the knee-deep muddy road as irate villagers forced them to continue walking as a punishment.
According to sources, the stretch where the two officials were forced to parade connects Golabai-Kanas road which is the lifeline for Bhagbatipada residents.
However, locals alleged that it has been rendered unusable due to the construction of a concrete wall on the canal site by the water resources department. The torrential rains recently made it almost impossible for the villagers to commute by foot, let alone travelling by any vehicle.
"We had gone to the area yesterday to assess the flood situation. The road connecting the river bridge became muddy due to rain. The responsibility of the road works lies with the local block. However, while complaining about the delay in the road works, the villagers made us wade through the muddy road," said Akshaya Kumar Behera, SDO of the Water Resources Department.